Loveland head coach Darryl Baca didn’t expect to have to go to his bullpen in the second inning of the Red Wolves’ game against Berthoud on Saturday at Owens Field.
But after an injury during warmups forced starter Wes Cheever out of the game before he even threw a pitch in the bottom of the second, Baca had to do just that.
He handed the ball to Bennett Gransbery, a junior transfer from Wyoming, and the reliever allowed only two runs on three hits with six strikeouts over the next five innings while the Red Wolves’ offense dug itself out of a 2-0 hole and eventually defeated the Spartans, 13-4.
“We didn’t expect him that early,” Baca said. “We knew they were going to bring a fight to us. We trust Bennett a lot. He’s shown us he can get the job done. He got three quick outs the first time through, three quick outs the second time though. I just kept checking in with him. So, we were really excited for him.”
Gransbery entered the game with the Red Wolves behind 2-0. In the top of the first inning, the Spartans plated a pair of runs on a passed ball and had the bases loaded when Cheever struck out Berthoud’s Kehan Cox to end the inning.
Berthoud wouldn’t score again until the fifth as Gransberry settled in. He pitched three scoreless innings, striking out one in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth.
“I knew I was the first out of the pen, but then Wes goes down with an injury,” Gransbery said. “You’ve just got to do the best you can in that situation. I just mixed speeds, trusted Baca’s pitch calling and Gavyn (Helm) catching everything and just let it rip and see what happens.”
Loveland cut the Spartans’ lead in half in the bottom of the second inning when Ashton Norvell scored on a fielder’s choice. The Red Wolves took the lead for good an inning later.
In the bottom of the third, with no outs and runners on first and third, Norvell singled home Gransbery to tie the game at 2. Cole Underwood scored on a sacrifice fly, and Norvell came across on a passed ball to give the Red Wolves a 4-2 lead after three innings.
The Loveland offense then erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fourth to go ahead 10-2. A combination of walks and extra-base hits fueled the Red Wolves’ onslaught. They walked six times in the frame, three of which came with the bases loaded.
Gransbery had the big hit in the inning, a two-run double. It came after Caden Waldorf doubled to open the inning and scored on a triple by Trace Ewing. Garrett Stilo was hit by a pitch to put two on for the Red Wolves’ relief pitcher, who started the game at third base.
“Barrels are contagious,” Gransbery said. “So, two barrels in front of me, just help the team with the third one.”
The Spartans finally got on the scoreboard again with runs in the top of the fifth and six innings to cut the Loveland lead to 10-4, but the Red Wolves added three more in the bottom of the sixth.
Braxton Moncivais relieved Gransbery in the top of the seventh and gave up a leadoff single before getting three quick outs, the second of which came when Underwood gunned down Berthoud’s Gavin Kirk at the plate on a single by Eli Richardson. Moncivais ended the game with a strikeout.
With the win, the Red Wolves evened their record at 2-2 with their Northern League opener against Poudre looming Tuesday. Berthoud dropped its second game of the season to fall to 0-2.
“We’ve got to grow up,” Berthoud head coach Buddy Kouns said. “The faster we grow up, the more success we’re going to see. The slower we grow up, it’s going to be a long process to success. We’ve got some kids that have the capability. Now we just have to build some confidence by capitalizing on the success that we have and spitting out the failures that we have.
“Right now, we’re not spitting failures out very well. We’re swallowing those failures, and then we’re letting them kind of fester a little bit.”
Berthoud will play its first Longs Peak League game of the season Monday at Severance.
